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Character of the Season
Frail in body but dangerously quick of mind, Nikandr is the sort of character who proves that curiosity can be just as perilous as any weapon. A necromancer, inventor, and problem-solver with more ambition than self-preservation, Niki approaches the world like a puzzle box begging to be opened, even when what’s inside has teeth. Blunt, dry-witted, fiercely independent, and carrying a history best left partially buried, he has a knack for making even failure feel fascinating. Whether he’s raising the dead, moving across Caido to King's End, or experiencing a hangover for the first time, Nikandr brings a wonderfully strange spark to Caido, and we can’t wait to see what trouble his brilliant mind wanders into next.
Congratulations, Niki!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
OG Skinning provided by Kaons, with functionality and many custom plugins made by Neowulf!
The corner of her lip pulls taut as she hears the wind up for the spit, but no spray comes, obviously. If it had, she'd have no issue wrenching his ties into something more unbearable than this, but he's punished himself enough by leaving a sheet of his own saliva and mucus to press in on his face with every breath.
It doesn't give her much hope that this band had much foresight paired with their actions when they chose to steal. Which, is the better outcome in her mind. She'd much prefer idiots trying to make a quick bit of coin than something with deeper roots making the task of weeding this out that much harder. "Well, you just think about it, I'll get the answer one way or another." In fact, she's of the mind that they use the dream cacti properties against this lot once they get back to the plot, see if they can't get some truth spilled through all the fear.
Grunting as she finishes tying off her last ward and sees that Thalassa has finished the others, Colt helps the last one shuffle into place on the wagon. They're cramped in the back, spits mcgee in the front with her, as she climbs up with ease into the driver's seat. "Sounds like a plan," Colt agrees easy to Thal's direction, nodding as she takes the reins in hand. With a cluck of her tongue and a shift of her reins, she drives the team back into motion, the initial strain against the sand finally jolting into a forward roll. She turns them back around towards where they'd first come from.
Colt drives the wagon!
Wild horse out the gate Yeah your heart about to break She the type of woman that gon' make you lose control She something wild, you might need a lasso
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
- You think that you're the man. I think, therefore, I am. -
With Colt's confirmation, Thal shifts into her Molten Tiger, heat radiating from her as she takes her place on the other side of the wagon. She doesn't bother to glare at the thieves, instead casting them a feline grin that begs them to give her a reason. Her bloodlust may be sated, but she could always go for a little bloodletting.
Lava drips down into the sand as she moves, prowling next to the vehicle until they manage to pick up speed. She then moves at a comfortable trot, keeping pace with the wagon all the way back to the plot where the farmers greet them.
Thal steps into her skin once more, tail flicking as she nods to the people who'd been robbed. There's no kindness or warmth for having saved their Dream Cacti, and she quickly dismisses them to prop her arms on the sides of the wagon, reserving her wicked smile for the four criminals detained there. "Are you guys ready for some fun?" Eyelashes fluttering innocently, she says, "You're going to sing until we're satisfied." Her tail flicks playfully behind her as she scans the crew settled amongst the containers.
Angling her head, her expression darkens. "How do you feel about letting these guys try out what they were stealing?"
Try dosing the thieves with Dream Cacti to see if they spill their secrets.
Shifting, he does his part of playing guard, running alongside the wagon the entire way back. He raises an eyebrow to see the other cat, making note of the dripping lava and quiet villainy she wears with a respectable level of caution. The trip is slower this time, but at least he doesn't have any weight on his shoulders. Still, the sun beats down on them, and his fur doesn't just look damp by the time they're trotting back onto the farm.
When Colt pulls the wagon to a stop, he shakes off some of the sweat and shifts, his hair damp where it hangs wild around his neck. He stands with arms crossed, waiting for the Dream Cacti to be released so he can leave, but the Ancient appears to have other ideas. Grimm grunts, not giving his assent, but not rejecting the idea as he steps closer. He finally grabs a container of goods for himself, eyes staying on the thieves for any antics they may try.
Grimm gathers what he's owed and makes sure no one acts up while the women have their fun.
05-10-2026, 09:41 AM (This post was last modified: 05-10-2026, 09:41 AM by Colt.)
COLT
"Whoa," she tells the team of beasts, pulling back on the reins to get the wagon to slow, and finally stop as they roll into the arrival at the cacti farm. The gathering group of farmers wear relief, and Colt swings down out of the driver seat to shake hands with one of them. The main proprietor, and the one she's been working closely with, Rafa. Colt shows him the returned stock, and his excitement is plain. This is a large part of their livelihood, the cactus is harvested as a water source as much as for the trade options with the spines. "Is that all of it?" she asks, to which he nods. Her gaze lifts as Grimm gathers some, but he seems to have arrangements with the owners since no one else bats an eye.
"Good," she asserts with him. "How often does this happen?" she asks him as they shift now towards the thieves that Thal is starting to unload. "And do you recognize any of them??" She nods towards the tied-up gang, but Rafa shakes his head. "Many thieves come and go," he explains. "Other farmers, normal traders, just visitors. Some just stumble on the farm and take." Colt hums in understanding, having dealt with cattle rustlers and wild unicorns thieving her stock plenty. "We'll have to come up with some ways to get you better security than just obscurity," she reasons, and she'll have to think on that more later.
For now, the supplies have been returned, the thieves apprehended, and she means to ensure she wrings out every last bit of knowledge from this exchange. She doesn't intend to be chasing wagons through the desert at every odd hour of the day. "Dose most of 'em," Colt agrees with Thal, but unlike the ancient her features don't wear pleasure, just the grim line of a business that doesn't stay pretty past tending crops. "The ones we dose might end up useless, but the one we don't might get scared enough he'll talk." As she's saying this, she's retrieved a knife and shaves off the evenmous spines from all sides of the cactus pad. The spines gleam like wicked toothpicks, and she sets the bundle of them in the outstretched hands of Rafa, keeping just one in her own fingers.
She twists the thorn between her forefinger and thumb, biting into the now naked and harmless cactus with a wet crunch. Chewing on the hydrating flesh of the cactus, Colt leans down and scores the back of two of the bound arms of the thieves, ensuring the tip of the toxic spine draws blood as it goes.
Colt eats some of the cactus after shaving the spines off and scratches two of the thieves with the toxic spines
Wild horse out the gate Yeah your heart about to break She the type of woman that gon' make you lose control She something wild, you might need a lasso
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
- You think that you're the man. I think, therefore, I am. -
Ignoring the man as he grabs a portion of the goods, she drapes herself confidently over the side of the wagon. Overhearing the conversation with 'Rafa,' Thal pipes up from where she's goading the thieves, calling over her shoulder, "You could do with some guard dogs." Whether those are literal dogs or Attuned in disguise, they'll have the same effect.
Jostling the crew from the wagon with a little more force than necessary, she arranges them back-to-back in a circle on the ground, secured to each other so they'll make quite the spectacle if they try to escape - not that it'll be easy once Colt swipes the spikes along their skin. Propped against the wagon with arms and legs crossed, Thal watches with a wicked delight as the two thieves look around fearfully, waiting for the drug to take effect.
It starts slow, their eyes darting to a shadow or someplace in the distance. One shrinks from the sight, muttering "No no no. Go away." while the other freezes, trembling without a word. Thal leans forward with interest, gaze catching on the undosed pair with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. "Ah. Looks like it's kicking in now."
The cowardly thief tugs at the restraints, pulling the others with them as they try to escape whatever vision starts to unfold around them. Small whimpers and desperate pleas fall from their lips, eyes flickering from squeezing shut and being unable to look away from the horrors. Meanwhile, the second thief seems to have solidified into stone, their face gaunt and gray. Urine puddles beneath them, seeping into the sand where the undosed pair struggles between avoiding the bodily fluid and getting knocked in the head by their flailing partner.
She's not sure those under the effects of the Dream Cacti will be much help, but Thal can see the breaking point approaching, the worry in the others' eyes as they watch the hallucinations grip the rest of their crew. Grinning, she nods to the rancher. "Ask away, Colt."
Grimm sets his portion of the harvest off to the side, nodding to Rafa as he does so. Honestly, he could leave now, having gotten what he came here for, but there's still a risk that something could go wrong, especially as Colt lifts a section of cactus from a bin. His jaw sets, biting back a warning for her to avoid the spikes. He nearly growls as she casually bites off a piece, looking away with the certainty that she's a grown woman who can deal with the consequences of her actions.
When she manages to avoid dosing herself, Grimm stands guard off to the side, arms crossed as he takes in the scene. The unlucky thieves earn a scratch of Dream Cactus and the impact sets in within minutes, hallucinations and terror gripping them in equal measure. There's no pity in his gaze as he watches, but also no indulgence, accepting that they've deserved this punishment even if he doesn't have the same enjoyment of their suffering as the Ancient apparently does.
The squirming, wailing response is about as expected. Never having had the pleasure of facing the nightmarish end of the plant, Colt has had some tea made from its extracted venom, dulled into something that invites imagination rather than wrenches down on dismay. She has heard plenty though, and with all the dabbling she's been doing in this business, sympathy is currently lower than her curiosity.
"Doesn't take long to take effect, it seems," she notes, and crouches down before one of the horrified thieves, trying to discern if there's any hope of reaching the mind or sensibility still. The gaze seems distant, locked on some terror that isn't there, and Colt pulls back with the assurance that there's nothing worthwhile remaining there, not currently at least. "How long will it stay with them?" she asks Rafa, who gives some answer about variables. Long enough it seems, and Colt uses that as fodder for stuffing the fear of the remaining, undosed crew.
Munching through another portion of the spineless cactus pad, Colt wipes the juice from the corner of her lip with the back of her hand. "Hear that?" she asks, head tilting. "Speak up now, or end the same." To say that they spill something to her is putting the sudden desperate babbling lightly. No honor among thieves, as they say, and this little operation certainly doesn't carry enough weight to it for them to bother pretending. Just some greedy, passing opportunitists, she gleans. No major sabotaging operation, but a sign that there's a lawless quality to the life carved out here and how even something as dangerous as this can be worth the risk for some coin and opportunity.
Colt stands up, thanking Thal and Grimm each. Thal's expertise in this area made the recovery helpful, and Grimm's brawn (and mounted travel). Colt would be staying though, to help Rafa strategize and to see about delivering these thieves to some other section of the desert once they come to.
[FIN]
Wild horse out the gate Yeah your heart about to break She the type of woman that gon' make you lose control She something wild, you might need a lasso
Received a Gilded Market wig from Remi that resembles her usual hair and is enchanted to stay on better than most wigs | has a reverse centaur tattoo on her left hand with the legs going down her pointer and middle fingers that looks like this.
